Don't Fear The Good Bacteria

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Last week, when I posted an entire day of eats, many of you commented or emailed me about my morning mug of miso broth:

My fermented beverage of choice.

This is so easy to make: 1 TBSP of miso paste (available from your local health food store or Asian market) stirred into 16 ounces of hot water (NOT boiling). That’s it.

Now, why do I drink it? Well, there are several reasons. First off, our bodies require a certain level of flora, or healthy bacteria. The healthy bacteria in the gut aids in food digestion, strengthens your body’s immune response, works against harmful bacteria, and manufactures certain nutrients our bodies need. What destroys our good bacteria? Unhealthy diets (think processed foods & sugar), chronic illness, birth control pills, and antibiotics to name just a few. Guess who grew up eating sugar and taking antibiotics constantly? Me! A lack of flora in the body can lead to digestive problems, constipation, yeast infections, food allergies, and a compromised immune system. Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? No worries. There are several ways to restore the good stuff.

These days, it seems Contains Probiotics labels can be found on everything from cereals to pizzas. However, I prefer more natural sources like fermented foods. Unfortunately, pasteurization has eliminated much of the flora found in the modern day diet, but fermented foods are a wonderful source. I began drinking miso broth after I gave up dairy. Yogurt & kefir used to be my go-to fermented foods, but not anymore. Fermented vegetables are also a great source of good bacteria…and they’re raw. Woo-hoo, bonus! Sauerkraut and kimchi (pickled cabbage) are two good options. Just make sure not to buy sauerkraut that has been fermented and then pasteurized. Another option is kombucha, a fermented tea drink, and if I could afford them, I would drink one everyday. Love GT’s Divine Grape flavor!

Another favorite fermented food of mine?

Tempeh with nut butter.

Tempeh is fermented soy beans pressed into a block or cake. Now, I’m not a fan of processed soy products as they irritate my stomach, but fermented soy foods like tempeh and miso don’t seem to bother me. Try some with a little a nut butter a la Gliding Calm. It makes for a great afternoon snack and much cheaper than a protein bar!

What about probiotic supplements? Well, since I take antibiotics on occasion, I do take the following probiotic by Innate Response everyday:

My daily dose of flora.

If you are interested in taking a probiotic, talk to your doctor first (standard disclaimer ) and make sure to look for one that is harvested from organic vegetable sources and contains live strains of the whole family of Lactobacilli bacteria. Your local health food store should be able to help you find a good brand. Keep in mind that most probiotics should be stored in the refrigerator and taken on an empty stomach.

If you’re interested in reading more about fermented foods, check out Seth Robert’s blog. He’s got some interesting ideas regarding various cultures around the world and the fermented foods they eat, and I really think he’s onto something.

CD’s Random Comment of the Day:

Great post heather! Being a former microbiologist I get annoyed when people label all bacteria as bad or dirty, when without them, our immune system wouldn’t function, our GI tract would not work properly, etc.

I lovelovelove miso! My problem is I get stymied by all the choices at my health-foods store! Not only is there paste and powdered but red, white, rice, wheat, etc. Any idea what the “healthiest” kind is or are they about the same? And tempeh is awesome. One of the few kinds of soy that doesn’t give me horrible gas!

I love reading your blog- 1. cause you’re awesome, 2. I feel like I’m always learning something!! I def grew up always on antibiotics (I was a kid with a constant ear, nose and throat infection). Maybe I should consider taking in some of this? Thanks for the info Heather. Hope you and that little cutie CD are having a great weekend. Oh and you and the dogs are ALWAYS welcome at our house!

I’ve always wondered why so many people on macrobiotic diets drink miso broth for breakfast… now I know!! I actually really like that idea. I have a lot of digestive issues, I should give it a try to see if it helps. How long do you usually wait until you eat solid food? My stomach is typically growling by the time I open my eyes, I need to eat a huge meal right away!

I totally agree with you. Not all bacteria is bad for you! My little brothers hardly get sick…their secret? DIRT! They eat dirt occasionally and while I wouldn’t do it myself, it’s not like it’s going to kill you if it happens!

miso soup is my favorite part about sushi restaurants! its so delicious! also, if you like Kombucha but find its too expensive, try brewing your own! my dad decided one day he wanted to try, and it actually isn’t that difficult, takes about an hour a week, and he makes about 6 pints a week with it.

Miso is so delicious. I was drinking it a few days a week in the morning months ago and quit for some reason (well, I ran out of miso and guess I never replaced it!) This post reinforced the fact that I need to get back on the bandwagon, since I used to eat tons of sugar, take antibiotics a lot (chronic UTIs, just like you) and a former birth control taker, I could use it.

I’ve finally come around to the Kombucha train, but goodness, the price is ridiculous! Now I treat myself to one every paycheck – seems like a good trade-off.

Thanks for posting this info. I think I should look into this some more…becuase I’m on the Pill and while my diet is fairly healthy, I probably eat too much sugar and could use some healthy bacteria in my life

This was an incredibly interesting post! I used to have horrible digestive issues and no doctor ANYWHERRE (okay, so that’s a little of an exaggeration!) could figure out what is wrong! I haven’t had issues in a while, but maybe I should give some of these tips a try!

I’m with you all the way on the probiotics. I actually scoop the miso paste straight out of the tub and use it as a base for my salad dressings. Add a little garlic, a little lemon, a little agave nectar, a little extra virgin olive oil… then drizzle it over veggies and avaocado…mmmmmm. A tasty and unusual way to get my miso in for the day. Mmmm, and kimchi… and fermented umeboshi plums… Is it lunchtime yet?!

Ditto to the above. The bugs have been around a heck of a lot longer than we have! Does it matter time of day to get in your daily dose or is it just as long as you get a daily dose? Thanks for the great information!!

That miso soup is such a great idea!
Also, I was just reading your post about gaining weight on a raw food diet. That is so interesting – when I did a 30 raw food diet I didn’t gain weight but I certainly didn’t lose weight. This makes me wonder if I have the same problem as you do or if I am just prone to eating too much food if I let myself (definitely true).
Pheebs

I used to make my own miso soup and I stopped for some reason. I didn’t know it was full of good bacteria, though! I am a bit worried about that myself after several years of being on the pill. I take a probiotic multivitamin but I’m sure that is not natural and who knows if it actually does anything. Maybe I need to start making miso again?

Hi Heather! I don’t know if I’ve ever commented on your blog before, but I spent a bunch of time this morning perusing your old posts (not a whole lot going on over here as you can probably tell) just to get a sense of where you started and where you are now. I LOVE your blog!! Right up there as one of my favorites.

Do you listen to Jillian Michael’s podcasts? I was just listening to her most recent one the other day and she was talking a lot about not eating soy unless it’s fermented. It goes right along with your blog and the importance of getting enough probiotics in our bodies. She’s also a firm believer in not using birth control pills (something I wish I’d realized a long time ago) nor antibiotics.

On a side note – I am so with you on almond butter. There was one point where I had 8 different kinds of nut butters in my pantry. YUM!